Roswell Cycling Festival Adds Craft Beer Tasting, Mountain Bike Races

Sign up for the Roswell Patch newsletter!

Organizers of the Roswell Cycling Festival have announced a new lineup of activities and partnerships for the 14th annual event.

The event, set for April 25-26, will include the return of Hennessy Jaguar Land Rover Centres as the presenting sponsor for the 2015 festival. Additionally, mountain bike races have been added at Big Creek Park leading up to the featured road races. In addition, a Craft Beer Tasting will be part of the popular Historic Roswell Criterium event on Sunday in historic Roswell.

Eleven restaurants are slated to participate in this year’s festivities.

“The Roswell Cycling Festival has become more than a pleasant afternoon under the shade trees of Historic Roswell for bicycle races,” said Roswell Mayor Jere Wood, who inspired a local bicycle club in 2002 to host the inaugural event. “It has become a showcase for the city as a bicycle friendly community and a showcase for the city as a dining and shopping destination. Bike Roswell! and corporate partners like Hennessy Land Rover and Hennessy Jaguar have helped this event continue to grow. You know it’s spring when the Roswell Cycling Festival returns. This event is special because people of all ages can enjoy a variety of activities throughout the weekend.”

The Hennessy Jaguar Land Rover Centres Roswell Cycling Festival began in 2002 as the Historic Roswell Criterium, and has grown to include a variety of activities for the entire family over multiple days. For the first time, the 2015 edition will feature off-road bicycle events to compliment the road races, which attract top male, female and junior cyclists from across the United States.

Popular activities returning are the Roswell Mayor’s Ride, Kiwanis Club of Historic Roswell Kid’s Bicycle Safety Rodeo and festival expo.

This is also the inaugural year for the Craft Beer Tasting. The cost per person will be $20 and each patron will receive a commemorative 5-ounce acrylic beer stein and a chance to sample 10 craft beers. A different craft beer will be featured at each participating Historic Roswell restaurant from 12:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday. Participating restaurants can be viewed on the festival’s website.

As the Presenting Sponsor, Hennessy will receive naming rights to the festival - Hennessy Jaguar Land Rover Centres Roswell Cycling Festival. The company will activate with two of its three area dealerships, Hennessy Jaguar North Point and Hennessy Land Rover North Point, both in Alpharetta. Hennessy’s first dealership in the Roswell area was the Hennessy Land Rover North Point location 20 years ago.

Hennessy will also support two pre-race community events - the Bike Roswell! Family Path Ride (Apr. 21) and the Bike Roswell! & RAMBO Bike & Beverage Tour (Apr. 24).

The Roswell Cycling Festival will continue to benefit Bike Roswell!, a nonprofit organization promoting safe cycling in the city. For a second year, Athens-based SWAGGER LLC has been contracted to operate the event logistics and sponsorships. SWAGGER is one of the country’s leading production companies for bicycle races, including the Athens Twilight Criterium.

The bicycle races in Roswell have been among the Top 15 one-day criterium-style events in the country sanctioned by USA Cycling. This year’s Historic Roswell Criterium is part of the USA CRITS Speed Week Series and is the second race of the series, which offers the biggest prize purse in American criterium racing with more than $125,000.

The Roswell Cycling Festival has entertained more than 65,000 spectators since it began in 2002. The races have attracted more than 8,500 junior and adult cyclists. In those 13 years, the popular Kids Bicycle Safety Rodeo, hosted by the Kiwanis Club of Historic Roswell, has positively impacted 1,500 children. These children have been given an opportunity to complete a free bicycle skills and safety clinic, followed by participation in age-specific races on the same course as the professional cyclists.

The Roswell-Alpharetta Mountain Bike Organization (RAMBO) and Bike Roswell! will offer a series of recreational and competitive cycling events leading up to the Hennessy Jaguar Land Rover Centres Roswell Cycling Festival. It will be the 11th year for the popular Roswell Mayor’s Ride.

There are four ride options which all begin at 8 a.m. Sunday, April 26 from Roswell Area Park. The cost is free for the six-mile family ride, which offers a police escort. Registration fees are $30 for the 20-mile and 40-mile options, and $35 for the 62-mile option, which all include a post-ride meal.

Additional information can be found at www.bikeroswell.com. More details about these activities and festival weekend events will be announced in the coming weeks at www.RoswellCyclingFestival.com.

Photo credit: Roswell Cycling Festival’s Facebook page